Apple chief executive Tim Cook has railed against proposed competition laws that would force the company to allow apps to be downloaded from other app stores, known as sideloading. According to him, this practice could compromise security. Tim Cook used his speech at the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) summit to express Apple’s concern over US and EU proposals that could force it to let users download apps on the iPhone outside of the App Store.
For the leader, the Digital Markets Act (DMA) of the European Union and the US Open Markets for Applications Act threaten Apple’s service-oriented business. The U.S. proposal, which in February received broad support from U.S. lawmakers, aims to require sideloading of apps and remove the need for developers to use Apple and Google’s in-app payment systems.
Meanwhile, Members of the European Parliament agreed to support the DMA last March. The text would require messaging platforms from Google, Apple, Meta and others to work together, just like texting works today.
A sideloading synonymous with nightmare for Apple
Apple has repeatedly opposed sideloading. For the Apple brand, this represents a risk of malware for iPhones. For its part, Google fears that the DMA will “reduce innovation and the choice offered to Europeans”. For Tim Cook, these competition rules endanger the privacy and security of users.
Apple is committed to “protecting people from an industrial data complex built on a base of surveillance”, said the leader of the American giant, echoing a phrase he used in 2018 when addressing a petition to the U.S. federal lawmakers to create a federal privacy law that emulates Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). “We have long been supporters of the GDPR […] and we continue to call for strong privacy law in the United States,” recalls Tim Cook.
“Here in the United States, policymakers are taking action that would force Apple to allow apps on the iPhone that bypass the App Store through a process called sideloading. This means that data-hungry companies would be able to circumvent our privacy policies and once again track users against their will. »
And to note that at the start of the pandemic, smartphone users were downloading legitimate Covid-19 tracking applications which turned out to be ransomware. “But these victims were not iPhone users, as the scheme directly targeted those who could install apps from websites that lack App Store defenses.” “Proponents of this legislation say there is no harm in simply giving users a choice. But by removing a safer option, users will have less choice,” adds the Apple CEO.
Source: ZDNet.com